National Union of Teachers (NUT) President Nasir Idris has said the proposed new salary structure for teachers will motivate teachers to deliver their jobs better.
Idris opined that Nigerian teachers had been discouraged because of poor condition of service, while many others had abandoned the profession out of frustration.
Idris, who addressed reporters at the weekend in Abuja, decried the poor treatment meted out to primary school teachers in the country.
The NUT boss called for the removal of teachers from local governments.
He said: “There are some states that have not implemented the minimum wage for teachers. But on the other hand, they have implemented for state workers.
“That’s why I said the teaching profession is not attractive in this country. It’s because of the barrier, especially the primary school teachers being termed as second-class workers in this country. It’s because in some states, you will see that they will pay secondary teachers their salaries or their minimum wage, but in primary schools, they will not pay.
“This is coupled with the problems on the ground. That’s why we are advocating and supporting, at the constitutional review, that let them remove teachers from the local governments. Let them create a body, just like I mentioned, like the Universal Basic Education Board (UBEC) here. During the military era, we had what we called National Primary Education Commission (NPEC).”
